The Prophecy
by Chelliegrace
Summary: It's been two years since the gang finally settled in their home world, Mobius. There has been nothing but peace, a sort of peace that bored Sonic and left him craving Amy's company. But when a strange ancient canine clan is suddenly after Sonic, the gang must go on a dangerous journey across Mobius, on a quest for the Gems of Hope.
1. Chapter One: It All Started With a Kiss

Hi! Thanks for reading! Just a few things before we start..

This story is finished and will be posted periodically. It was originally posted on Wattpad under the name **_Chelliegrace_**. If you see this story anywhere else other than here or Wattpad, please let me know, because chances are, I did not post it.

This story will contain many shippings, but they will not be the main focal point.

This is also a strange plot, because I started it back in 2013.

Please enjoy~

* * *

Curling up, whirling through the air so effortlessly like it was nothing.. what a nostalgic feeling. It had only been two years of peace, two years without having to fight anything big; but it felt like much longer. Nowadays, I took a shot at any threat, no matter how small, just for that feeling again. My calling, if you want to call it that. Although, Amy suddenly being attacked by a rather large robot was an actual threat.

"You need to be more careful, Amy," I said out of old habit as the robot exploded behind me. I walked up to the pink hedgehog and offered a hand as she stood and dusted off her dress.

"It was a good thing you came, though," She said, opening up her arms to reveal a little plain chao, all happy and dancing in her arms.

I bent down a little to get a better look at it, tilting my head a bit. "It wanted.. Cheese?"

She heaved a sigh. "No, dummy. Cheese has a red bow tie!" She said, clearly pointing out that this chao was completely plain.

"Then.. what?" I asked cluelessly. "And what are you doing in the Mystic Ruins, anyway? I thought you lived in Station Square still.."

Amy hugged it. "That was one of Eggman's robots, right?"

That got my attention. I hadn't even noticed that she didn't answer. "It was, wasn't it.."

"And he's been missing for two years."

"Nocturns again?"

Amy shook her head.

I saw the problem now. None of Eggman's old robots had any way of operating anymore with him gone, and surely not another crazy space clan would try and rough things up. And for whatever reason, the robot was after the chao.

"Well let's take the robot remains back to Tails and-"

"You blew it up." She cut me off. "Here, I'll look. You just hold this little guy." She pushed the chao into me, which I had no choice but to hold.

Holding the little chao gingerly, I watched as she crouched down and started looking through the heap of scrap the robot had left behind. She had gotten much more mature in only two years. I was still somewhat surprised when she didn't beg me to marry her, with her lack of stalking me and all. She would still chase me around occasionally when she got the chance, but not so much. When she did, it was more like us playing together. Not since a few months back when she had arranged an entire wedding and I made the awful mistake of telling her that she went overboard, then ditched her. In a way, she had been weird ever since then. Albeit, she seemed to have it more together now, and although I didn't miss her obsession with me, I still halfway expected it.

And I didn't think she could become more motherly, but she did. She not only dedicatedly helped Vanilla take care of Cream, who was still young, but she volunteered at a daycare center all week. I couldn't help but find myself meeting up with her at least once a day on her lunchbreak or after she got off her shift, just as I passed by. It took me a while to realize it, but she had stopped trying to get me to hang out with her, and before I knew it, I was pursuing her instead. It was embarrassing for me to admit to even myself that I missed her company, but I gradually became used to the idea, and I lived like that every day. Nobody knew except Tails, though. Nobody else could know. If anyone else knew that I willingly went to see Amy every day, they would think that I was finally giving into her, which I almost was, but I couldn't have that. Perhaps I had way too much free time.

"Sonic!" Amy's voice snapped me back into reality. "Found something!"

"Yeah? What is it?"

She sprang to her feet and spun around to face me. "I found a.." She held it up in front of her face to take a better look at it. "I believe it's some sort of microchip, or piece of the hardware or something."

I held the chao out to her, and she took it. "Robots have hardware?"

"I.. don't know. Maybe? Either way, Tails might know. Let's just go." She replied, averting her gaze. I caught her doing that often lately, though I didn't quite understand why. Nevertheless, I didn't dare question her, and only picked her up to run with her in the direction of Tails' workshop.

The little shack-like building sat near the cliff, looking out on the sparkling ocean. Quite a view it was. I never questioned why the fox had chosen such a spot to call his home. Inside, however, it was completely empty. Tails wasn't there, and neither was the little boy of who. he had recently taken in as his apprentice.

"Ahw yeah.. I forgot. He left to go run some errands in town. That's why I went for a walk in the first place." I said as I let her in and guided her into the living area.

Amy just plopped into a chair, cuddling the chao in her arms. "Well, we'll just have to wait for him to get back. I'll let Cream know that I'll be home late." She said, taking her cellphone out and flipping it open.

I looked away, a forced and delayed reaction, as I sat in a chair across the room from her. We sat in silence for a long time, the only sound being her fingers against the buttons. Each little thump rang in my ears, piercing the uncomfortable silence that I was probably creating all on my own.

"Amy.." I accidently started, then stopped myself.

She looked up at me with a look that meant she was ready to listen. Feeling like an idiot already, I continued.

"Wh-.. Why don't you like to hang out anymore?"

Her plain expression slowly turned to a questioning look, but she didn't say anything. I had no choice but to continue.

"I mean.. before, you always wanted to be with me." I rubbed the back of my neck. "You would always try to get me to marry you, and always, I don't know.. hug on me.. You don't act like that as often.. In a long time.." My words faded as they escaped my lips, hanging there vaguely in the space between us.

She stared at me for quite some time before a smile spread across her face. "Sonic the Hedgehog," she said, lowering her phone into her lap, where the chao took it straight to its mouth. "Are you saying what I think you're trying to say?"

I stopped for a short moment. What? "Depends.. What do you think I'm trying to say?"

"I only thought I was annoying you. And to think you actually miss me being a bratty kid who would cling to you like you were her knight?" She giggled.

I couldn't see what was so funny. In fact, I didn't really understand what was going on in that moment. I just knew that it was nice talking to her as a person. Lately, I rather enjoyed talking to her; I just never knew what to say. And when I finally say something, I get lost in the conversation. Whatever was going on, I just went with it.

"I-I don't know. I kind of felt like I was your knight." I smirked faintly as memories flashed through my mind. Scenes of her being carried under the arm of a robot. Scenes of me scooping her up and running with her through fields and valleys as she clinged to my neck. The good times, where it was just she and I, the damsel in distress being saved by the knight. "I always had to rescue you, even though whenever I was touched by someone else you suddenly became Super Woman and whacked away with that piko piko hammer of yours."

We both laughed a little and she agreed, then it grew silent again for a long time. "I.. I miss those days.." She finally said softly, so softly that I could barely hear her.

I looked at her for a moment. "Hey, Amy.. Do you think-"

She had looked up at me with hopeful eyes. Reminiscing, smiling.. It was the perfect moment. The rarest of moments for me. But one voice had to interrupt and ruin it all.

"Tails! Taiiils!" A red echidna's head poked in through the window beside me. He tried to wriggle his arms through, but stopped abruptly and frowned when he noticed us. "Oh.. it's just you two."

I could hear Amy growl - literally - as she jumped up. She pulled her hammer from seemingly nowhere, something I hadn't seen in a long time, and whacked Knuckles right over the head with it.

"Ow ow, Amy!" He said, looking to me in distress. "Why is she so ticked?" He asked as he got his arms through and tried to pull himself in, but failed miserably. "Where's Tails?"

"He's out on an errand. And there's a door, y'know," Amy answered, glaring still.

"Sheesh, hold on," Knuckles said. He popped out the window and went around to the front, where he let himself in. "If he's on an errand, why are you two here alone? It's late."

"We're just talking! And it isn't late. It's like five." Amy answered, obviously still steamed. I patted down the quills on my head and just averted my attention to the large, blinking machine to the right of me. I had no idea what it did, even though I had seen Tails use it about fifty times.

"Talking? Alone? Just you two?" He looked to me and raised a brow. "Since when do you two-"

"Stay in your own business, Knucklehead." I chided. "What did you want?"

Knuckles' gaze narrowed. "I wanted to ask Tails if he knew any-" He stopped, looked around, then walked back over to the window. He stuck his head through and bent to reach something from the ground, coming back up with some sort of little robot about the size of his head, smashed.

"I wanted to know if he knew anything about this."

Amy and I exchanged glances before I turned back to him, crossing my arms over my chest. "You're finding Egghead's little minions too?"

"It was creeping around the Master Emerald. I don't know how it sneaked up on me. It is Eggman's right?" He asked as he looked down at it.

"You think he's after it?" I asked, to which he nodded. "And so you left it alone and came here?"

"No," Knuckles said, crossing his arms. "I broke it and scattered the pieces."

I stared at him blankly for a moment, then heaved a longsuffering sigh. "You Knucklehead! How many times are you going to do that before you realize that it just makes everything worse?"

"What would you rather me have done, lugged it here with me?" He asked with a pang of annoyance in his voice.

I shook my head in dissappointment. "At least tell me you have the Chaos Emeralds?"

"Don't worry, Sonic. I'm not that stupid." He said as he reached up into his cowboy hat to pull out two gems: a red one and a green one. I looked at them, then up at him then back to them.

"Knuckles.. There's seven. You only have two there." I pointed out flatly.

"Sonic, will you relax, I know what I'm doing. I gave them..." He trailed off.

I gave him a questioning look. "First you break your precious Master Emerald, and now you're giving the Chaos Emeralds away?"

"You know, I'm getting really tired of your attitude.." He growled under his breath. "I gave them to you, hero. Remember?"

I just stared at him. "Huh?"

"Yeah! You came to the Island, helped me beat off the robots.. And you said to give you some of the Chaos Emeralds for, and I quote, 'safekeeping'. Then you agreed it would be best to break the Master Emerald, and left. Oh, but you told me to find Tails and tell him.. Then you left."

"I haven't been to Angel Island in months, Knuckles. And I sure as heck wouldn't take them with me or let you break the Master Emerald."

"You were there. I'm not an idiot."

"Knuckles, you are an idiot!" I spat, leaning back in the chair with my arms crossed. "How do you suppose I even got there without Tails? It's a floating Island; I can't fly."

Knuckles stared at me for a moment, then his gaze hardened. "I'm tired of you treating me like I'm stupid. I swear you were there. I only know what I know, and what I know is that you were there and you took the other emeralds from me."

I could tell he was serious, dead serious, so I didn't exactly answer. I glanced to Amy, wondering why she had stopped talking nearly at the beginning of our conversation. She was just staring out the window. I took a breath and started to say something, but the door burst open.

"Soniiiiic~ I got us some-" Tail's voice boomed as he walked in and stopped, noticing us all there. "Ham.. salad..." He finished slowly, putting the grocery bag on the table by the machine.

"Tails!" Knuckles shouted, rushing up to him with the robot in his arms. Amy rushed up to him at the same time, lugging the chao. I went for a spoon for the ham salad.

"H-Hi guys," Tails said awkwardly, "What are you all doing here?"

"Tails!" They both exclaimed simultaneously.

"Eggman's robots!" Amy spat before Knuckles could say anything else. "This chao here.. I was walking through the forest when I saw him being chased by a robot. Sonic came just in time and smashed it, but I was able to rummage through and find this. I brought it since it looked important." She said, getting the chip from the inside of her shirt. I had never seen her act like that before, regardless of her being more mature. Let alone the fact of her using her shirt as a pocket.. How did that even work?

Taild took it and brought it up to see it better in the light. "If I didn't know any better.." He mumbled to himself, walking toward his equipment. We all three watched as he placed it in a thin drawer that slid out, and pushed it back in. Thousands of words and numbers came up on the screen, and Tails' eyes lit up. "I knew it! Amy, how'd you know to grab its holming chip?" He asked. She only shrugged. "Since Eggman is gone and his robots shouldn't be activated at all, let alone out in operation, this is the most useful thing you could have found!"

Amy kept a straight face. "Can you backtrack whoever is sending the commands?"

"I think I can! Amy, when'd you become so smart? Do you want to help me?" He asked. Amy smiled and nodded.

While they started to work, Knuckles came over, grabbed my arm, and pulled me out the door. I almost dropped the bowl of ham salad in my hands, he had pulled me so roughly.

"Hey, dontcha think Amy is acting a bit strange?" He asked quietly as he closed the door behind us and dragged me forward a bit. "I mean, not so much the fact that she's suddenly 'smart', because she has tried taking charge in the past and never failed to give her input. It's the way she's reacting. I don't know, something's just off.."

I thought about it for a moment, leaving the spoon in my mouth. Maybe he was right. I just took it as her changing, as people did whilst they got older. I just thought it was her trying to be mature. I had been brushing it off like it was nothing. But Knuckles had come to the realization that she was acting weird. He didn't spend near as much time with her as I did, and he came to accept it before me?

"Y-You're right.." I said, sticking the spoon back into the ham salad and staring down at it for a long moment. "But I just thought it was her trying to be mature."

Knuckles slid his arm around my shoulder, giving me a smirk that caused me to feel a chill down my spine. "How about we test her?"

"And just how do we do that?" I put my arm around his shoulder, playing along.

"Kiss her."

I nearly choked on air. "Wh-what?"

He let go of me and jumped in front of me. "Think about it, Sonic. She stalked you for years, begging you to marry her. She even set up a whole wedding when we got back here, remember? And you just ditched her, and she threatened to kill you for months until you brought her those flowers.."

"I know," I said, glaring at him slightly. He didn't have to remind me.

"Anyway, if she got a kiss from you, she'd be thrilled. Maybe even freak out. Anything but respond like a normal person, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah.. I guess you're right." He was right, in a way. Either way, Amy understood me more than anyone. I acted as if I didn't know, but I knew. She knew if I was sad, even if I were smiling. She knew when I was ticked. She knew that when I would run off for months at a time, I just needed time to find myself, and to wait for me; because she would be the first person I would go back to. She knew that I wouldn't just go all-out and kiss her.

"Then go on down the runway and wait! You gotta set the mood. Sunset, looking out over the ocean.."

"Wait a minute, who said I was going to play along! No way I'm kissing Amy!"

"I'll go get her!" He rushed inside, completely disregarding what I had just said.

I sighed and slumped, watching him go. Before I knew it, I found myself walking down the runway, to sit on the edge looking out over the vast ocean. It really was beautiful. The waves reflected the sky's red and pink hues, mixing it with brighter colors, making it shine. It was rare to see such a beautiful sunset very often.

I had been thinking about our relationship for a long time. Thinking about us. Thinking about what life could be like if I were to give in to her, and actually marry her. Nobody, not even Tails knew that I thought of things like that. And I preferred it to stay that way. Aside from that, what if Amy really was normal, and we were just reading her wrong? What if she thought I liked her because of it? I wouldn't be able to live it down. Not in a million years. But then again..

"You wanted me?"

Her soft voice came from behind. I turned around to see her and faked a smile, patting the ground beside me. She sat, returning the smile. "What were you saying earlier?" She asked.

"Nothing really," I replied, looking out on the water again. I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. I hadn't kissed anyone, not in a long time. My heart felt like it was about to pound right out of my chest, and I didn't like it.

"..Then.. what is it? I need to go help Tails. Knuckles acted like you really needed to talk to me."

That was where I stopped. Amy had never complained about spending time with me. In fact, she would usually drop everything and come drag me to sit with her and talk and watch the sunset. What if Knuckles was right? What if something was wrong with her?

She stood, but I grabbed her wrist. "Wait!" I said, standing up with her. I stood there for a brief moment, frozen. I had put myself on the spot. I lunged forward, squeezing my eyes closed, only to find my lips to hers. I had stopped thinking, and apparently so had she. She just stood there as if she were confused. Then, to my surprise, she calmly and naturally melted into it, sliding her tongue between my lips. No.

I pulled away abruptly and backed away a step, in slight of a shock. I was more embarassed with myself than I was finding her action peculiar. That was what people were supposed to do when they kissed, right? Geeze, had I forgotten how to kiss? Why was I so flustered?

"What?" She asked after a few seconds of silence. "That was all you wanted, a kiss? Then you backed away?"

"You.. You talk as if that was a normal action coming from me," I said slowly.

"We are in a relationship.."

That was when it clicked. "You're not Amy."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"You're not Amy." I repeated, clenching my fists.

I didn't come to the conclusion that she wasn't normal. No. It wasn't Amy at all. She would never so nonchalantly say something like that. She would kidd, or try to imply it, or act under the illusion that we actually were in a relationship, but she wouldn't so seriously say it, and after having chased me for so long, she would never, not in a million years, pass off a kiss from me as normal.

"Where's Amy?"

"Wh-what do you mean, Sonic? I am Amy! I.. I love you, Sonic!"

"Yeah right!" I grabbed her arm. "Tell me where Amy is, now!"

She tugged, but I kept my grip firm. She glared at me, then groaned. "F-Fine," She said, closing her eyes. Within seconds, her whole body changed. What was once a sweet, cheerful, pink hedgehog Amy was now a purple dog with piercing black eyes, wearing a slick, black, full body suit.

I unconsciously loosened my grip, and she pulled out of it right away. She smirked and jumped back.

"You're smart," She said, her raspy voice completely different from Amy's. "But not smart enough!" She backed away to the edge of the runway, turned around, and dove off the side. "Stop!" I yelled, diving after her. In all my years of being afraid of water, it didn't even dawn on me that I had plunged into the vast ocean. That is, until my body broke the surface. All I thought of was Amy. Where was she? What happened to her? Who was this dog, and why was she masquerading as Amy?

I flailed, trying to swim after her, but she was too fast. I only sank. I lost my breath, and the last thing I saw was the figure way ahead of me disappearing. Then, it all went black.

 **xoxo**


	2. Chapter Two: To the Ocean?

"Sonic..

..Sonic!"

My eyes cracked open a little, but before I could process whose voice was echoing through my head, I was squinting from the flashlight shining in my face. "Sonic.." Tails said softly as he flipped off the light and hovered over me. "Thank goodness. Knuckles, he's awake!"

I sat up and looked around to see that Knuckles was laying on the ground beside me, panting and dripping wet. I looked between them in confusion. "What the? What happened?"

"Knuckles had taken me to the window to watch after he sent Amy out there, saying that 'something magical was about to happen'. I expected something stupid, but I didn't expect to see Amy transform into something totally different!" Tails explained quickly. "And then you dived into the water after her like a madman! Knuckles had to go in to save you."

"I told you, Sonic. Didn't I tell you that something fishy was going on?" The red echidna said as he raised up on his hands and knees. "But I still can't believe you did that."

It suddenly came back to me. Amy had morphed into some strange purple dog girl, then jumped into the water. I had followed out of impulse; only to remember seconds later that I couldn't swim. I clenched my fists at my sides. "Did you see where that girl went? And where's Amy?" I asked before I began to cough up a bit of water.

"No doubt Eggman captured her again." Knuckles suggested.

"Now, let's not start blaming things on Eggman," Tails retorted gently. "He did disappear, after all."

"Yeah, but he disappeared when we had all that Nocturne stuff happened, too." Knuckles pointed out as he sat up and shook his wet quills like a dog. I glared as some of it splashed onto me, but he only continued. "And we worked with him, then he turned on us. The same thing is probably happening all over again."

"You shouldn't just assume things without proof, Knuckles. Plus, you're a fine one to talk." Tails said with a pang of annoyance in his voice. Then he sighed and turned to me as I continued to cough. "Are you okay, Sonic? Did you swallow too much water? I thought I was going to have to give you CPR there for a minute."

When I didn't voice a reply, Knuckles sat up and gave me a strange look. "Why're you being like that? Amy's been captured several times. She never gets hurt, and we always get her back."

"Its not just the fact that she's gone," I finally answered. "Its that girl. Whoever she is, she's been masquerading as Amy for who knows how long. She must be the one behind Amy's disappearance, or at least involved in it somehow. And if Eggface is behind it, that makes everything that much better, because he's probably trying to hatch another useless scheme. And who knows what's happening to Amy right now."

It didn't hit me until later, but Knuckles had noticed something that I hadn't even noticed at the time. Yeah, she had been captured several times before, and I had been worried about her every time. But this time was different. This time, I was infuriated.

"Still.." Knuckles started slowly. "I didn't expect you to dive in like that after her. Did you become friends with water since the last time we talked or something?"

"Tails," I said as I stood, ignoring Knuckles. "Let's see where that chip leads us."

"I already have the coordinates. I got them earlier when you and Knuckles were out here." The fox stood with me, looking at me curiously. "But what if its a trap, Sonic? Whoever she was.. She wanted to get to whoever commanded the robot. That, or she wanted to lead us there. We have no clue as far as her motives go."

"If they want to play their little game, we might as well have some fun and play along." I said smiling and giving him my signature thumbs up.

Tails led us back inside, first giving us towels to dry off with, then heading over to his large computer whose screen stretched across the wall. He gestured towards it as he zoomed in on a grid. "Eggman likes to keep track of his robots at all times. He also tends to act as a sort of command central, so with this chip, it's easy to pinpoint the exact location of where this robot's 'command central' is. Just to our luck, it's in the middle of the ocean. Literally." He gestured to the speck of land on the edge if the screen. "We're here on the edge of the island, and the signal is coming from way over here." He pointed to the little purple dot in the middle of the grid. "Now, the signal is faint, meaning it's pretty deep underwater, and probably not on a boat. But not too deep, because I can still pick it up. Either way, we'll need a submarine, and we don't have access to one."

"Can't you build one?" Knuckles asked.

"I could draw up some blueprints for one, I guess, but it would take quite a while." He crossed his arms over his chest as he thought. "Actually, we could rent some scuba gear. That might be quicker."

I felt kind of queasy just thinking about it. "I'd rather take a sub. Can't we just borrow it from someone?"

"I don't know anybody who has a submarine, Sonic." Tails said. "Do you?"

I crossed my arms and tapped my foot impatiently, leaving the towel draped over my head. "Can't we ask GUN?"

"I doubt they'll just hand us a submarine, if they even have one. They're the military, you know. I'll just rent some scuba gear first thing in the morning. If you don't feel comfortable, then Knuckles and I will go to investigate, and you can stay behind."

"No way." I said flatly. "Rent me some too. But do we have to wait until tomorrow?"

"No shops that will rent stuff like that out are open so late. So you go on up to bed and try to sleep, alright? You don't looks so good."

I frowned as the towel slipped off and drifted down to the floor below. It wasn't as if we had any other options. "Fine. But-" I stopped completely as my gaze landed on the little blue chao across the room, fluttering up to the computer to try and press a button. Tails followed my line of sight and quickly picked it up, and turned back around to me.

"I forgot about him. She must have left him behind." He said thoughtfully. "Um.. where did he come from, exactly?"

I took the little guy and looked down at him as he stared up at me. "Dunno, really. I was taking a walk and I heard Amy scream, and when I got there, the robot had her. Then she claimed that the robot was after this guy."

"So.. what do we do with him?" Knuckles asked as he stepped beside me and took a good look at it.

"I guess.. keep him?" I suggested with a shrug. I held the little blue guy up in the air. "I shall call you.. Little Buddy!" I declared, and he began to "choo!" and wave his little stubby arms.

Tails frowned at me, but when I looked to him in question, he sighed. "Okay, you can keep him. But I'm not taking care of him next time you run off for days at a time."

"No worries, Tails." I said, then paused. "So we'll get scuba gear? You have to be a good swimmer for that, right?"

"I'll be right there beside you." Tails smiled. "Don't worry, I'm just as worried about Amy as you are. I'll try to find an alternative, but if I can't, then waiting until tomorrow is our only option. So just relax, okay? I'll be in the garage to see if I can put anything together."

I nodded and watched him leave, then turned to Knuckles as he collapsed on the couch. I walked up to him, narrowing my eyes. "Don't you have an emerald to put back together?"

"Yeah, but if I have to go with you guys in the morning, then I need some sleep. I'd advise you to do the same."

I turned towards the front door, but stopped. "How'd you know that would work, anyway? With Amy, I mean. You're supposed to be the dumb one."

"Hey, who you calling dumb?" He barked angrily. I smirked and walked outside without answering him. I went up to a tree, turned my back to it, and slid down with a sigh. I leaned back and looked up at the stars as they twinkled across the night sky. They looked like tiny little dancers, all twinkling to their own beat.

I looked down as the chao crawled into my lap and looked up at me, a sort of curious twinkle in his eye. I gingerly brought my hand up to pat its head. "Hey, you don't already have a home, do ya?" I asked, not really expecting an answer. "Did you come from the caves? I hear there're a group of chao that live in there."

The chao didn't exactly respond. Well, for one, it couldn't talk. But it wasn't quite as responsive as Cheese was. However, it surprised me by cuddling into my arm like a little child would. I lifted my gaze back to the stars above, leaning my head back against the tree. "I wonder where Amy is.." I whispered. I looked down at the chao and rubbed its head. "Amy is my friend. She looks like the girl that was around earlier, but.. she doesn't usually transform into someone else." I stifled a weak laugh.

What would have happened if it really had been Amy that I had kissed? How would she have reacted? What would she have thought? Would I have been able to kiss her? Where had I even conjured the guts to do so? I felt my cheeks grow a bit warm in response to my thoughts. Teasing her was so easy. Likewise avoiding her. But actually responding to the affection she had always showered me with? Talk about scary. Responding to my own affection towards her? Even worse. You're seventeen now, Sonic. Almost eighteen. I scolded myself. You should know what to do by now..

Ah, but I didn't, and that was the most aggravating part.

Other people were in relationships. Other people knew what to do with feelings. Even the knucklehead echidna was able to take his strange rivalry with Rouge to a whole other level. They had been in an off-again on-again relationship for the past year or so. So why couldn't I with Amy? Dang it, why were feelings so hard? Three words - that's all I ever had to say. Three stinking words. I could bust up any robots, aliens, or rivals that stepped in my way. I could save the world a million times over. And yet, I didn't know how to handle a single girl who already liked me back?

I exaggerated a sigh to myself, as if that would alleviate some of the mixed emotions. Well, it didn't. But it did cause me to mindlessly glance up just in time to see a silhouette of someone tall run towards the workshop in front of me. Another silhouette followed, and I quickly recognized the shape as Shadow the hedgehog. I squinted my eyes to see through the dark as I watched the other silhouette bust down the front door. As it came in contact with the light inside, I noticed that it was a red and silver robot. Curious, I stood, but before I could take a single step, I heard Tails screech my name.

I rushed inside and then into the garage to see Tails was way under the plane and a robot was attacking the side of the it as if trying to get to him.

"Omega!" I called, but it didn't cease it's ripping at the side of the plane.

"Omega? Shadow's robot friend?" Knuckles asked as he came up behind me.

I jumped up and over the plane, slamming my feet down on the robot's head to stop him. "Long time no see, Omega! What're you-" I stopped. His eyes, once red, were now glowing purple. His arms didn't have their regular claws; they now looked as though they were made to shred. It had done quite a bit of damage to the X Tornado already, making the plane looking like a heap of unsalvagable scrap.

"You didn't come here for a visit, did ya?" I asked as I jumped off and landed a few feet away, standing my guard.

"Sonic the Hedgehog.." The robot said in its dull voice as it slowly turned to me. It raised its arm and started to come down on me, but I jumped up and onto the top of my plane. I jumped up again and rolled into a ball, and went for him. But right before I hit him, a black ball slammed into me, knocking me aside.

"Do not attack him, Faker," It growled in warning. I looked up to see that it was none other than Shadow. He stood, pulling me along with him. Omega turned to us and brought his claws down to strike us; but Knuckles jumped just in time to grab his arms and hold him back. Shadow and I jumped aside, scattering our formation.

"What's going on, Shadow? I thought he was our ally?" I asked, glancing at Tails who was attempting to crawl out from underneath the plane while he had the opportunity.

"Omega has gone haywire, Sonic." Shadow replied. "I had tried dismantling him and was bringing him to Tails so he could take a look at him, but as I got closer to the workshop, he suddenly turned on and busted his way in."

"Why is he attacking the Tornado?" Knuckles asked as he jumped between us.

"I don't know, but he's far more dangerous now.." Shadow answered with great concern. "I've never seen him like this."

"You'll have to tell us the story later," Tails said, flying over to us. "But for now, we'll have to break him."

"No!" Shadow snapped. "Can't you see that something is wrong with him?"

"Shadow, I can fix him later!" Tails said firmly. "We have somewhere important that we need to go, and I don't have the time to assemble a brand new Tornado!"

"No!" Shadow cried. "Wherever you're going, its not as important as Omega!"

"Shadow!" I snapped angrily, clenching my fists. "Think of someone besides yourself for once! Knuckles!" I called, glancing over my shoulder to see Knuckles nod and grab Shadow.

I zoomed around the plane and jumped on top of it again. I rolled into a ball again, and grinded Omega's head. After a few seconds I jumped off and landed beside him, thinking for sure I had damaged him. But when I turned to look, he was competely normal. Catching me off guard, he slashed his claws deep across my torso with nothing less than killing intent. This kid had went into serious mode.

From there, everything went blurry. I could see Shadow's dark figure running toward me, voices calling for me; but I was virtigoed. All I knew was that I was lifted up, and crashed through the ceiling. Then, I was completely out.

 **xoxo**


	3. Chapter Three: Reunion

_..Wet._

Drops of water were dripping onto my face like the light pitter-patter of a sprinkling rain. As I started to come to my senses more, I began to hear the hiccups that accompanied a series of heavy sobbing. Then, out of nowhere, someone pressed against my torso with nearly all their weight, wrapping their arms around my neck and cradling my head. Grunting from the pain that caused, my eyes fluttered open, and the first thing I saw was a blurry, gray ceiling. It was dark, but the faint light coming from the hallway granted me enough to be able to see what was around me. I blinked a few times and looked beside my head to see a pink one, and taking in a deep, shallow breath, I caught a whiff of her scent. _Amy?_

"Amy, it hurts.." I muttered weakly as my eyes fluttered back to a close. I had to fight to stay conscious at this point. She raised up off of me and stayed silent, but when I opened my eyes again, I looked up to see her sitting on her knees, wiping her glistening cheeks with her wrists. Her eyes were pink and puffy as she locked eyes with me, and it was as though time had stopped as she just stared, wide-eyed.

"You.. _are_ Amy, right?" I asked, blinking. Things were still a little blurry and hard to make out.

She started sobbing hard again and buried her face in my chest, being gentle this time. "Of course I'm Amy.."

I attempted to sit up, and she helped me, even though it hurt like heck. "What happened? What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice and breath still trembling as she tried to calm down.

"I was attacked by Omega and-" I stopped as the past day's events raced through my mind. Amy had been missing, but now here she was right in front of me! I turned towards her and took her face in my hands to take a better look at her. "Ames! It's you!" I exclaimed suddenly. She smiled a lopsided smile that caused the butterflies caged within my stomach to become enraged.

"Of course it's me. Who else would I be?"

"There was.." I brought a hand up to hold my head. I was so dizzy. What had even happened, anyway? Omega came and.. I looked down at my torso to see that I was all wrapped up in several layers of bandages. It didn't hurt too much, only when I moved, so that made me think that I had some sort of pain medication in my system. Who would have done that? I looked back up to Amy. "You were being attacked by one of Eggman's robots, and afterwards we went to Tails' workshop. You seemed pretty normal, and then we went outside and.." I paused. Tell her about the kiss? No way. "..Suddenly, you just turned into someone else."

She raised a brow. "Someone else? Huh?"

"Yeah. It was a purple dog wearing a black suit. I don't know how long she had been.." I trailed off as her expression slowly changed from confused to heavily ticked. "..and.. woah, are you okay?"

"No, no I'm not." She replied flatly. "What all did she do?"

"Nothing really, just act like you. I don't know how long she had been masquerading as you. Er, how long have you been here, and where exactly are we?"

"We're in that girl's underwater base, and I've been here for about five or six days, right here in this jail-like cell." She said sadly, her gaze drifting to the floor. "They told me I was going to have a visitor, and next thing I knew, they tossed you in here. I thought.." Fresh tears came to her eyes. "I thought you were dead.. you weren't responding at all. I was so worried!"

I smiled and rubbed her head with my hand. "I'm not dead. I don't think." I tried to joke lightly, but she wouldn't budge. Her expression was as serious an expression I had ever seen on her face.

She averted her gaze for a moment, then looked back up at me. "I've been getting threatening letters in the mail for the past few weeks. Well, before I came here. Saying things like I should stay away from you. That I should stay away from my friend at work. And just stupid lies about you.."

"Stupid lies?" My smiled faded and I raised a brow in questioning. "Why didn't you tell me? Who were they from?"

"I was threatened that if I told you about them, I would, and I quote, 'meet my fate early.'" She downcast her gaze. "I didn't know who they were from, because there was no return address. I thought it was just someone who was obsessed with you or something, but now I know that it came from the people who are holding me here. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry.." Her voice faded, and she looked away, adding in a much softer tone, "Why would you care, anyway?"

"Of course I would care! You're my friend, Amy. And anyways, it's my job."

She stopped. "Your job?" She asked with a sting of pain in her voice.

"Yeah, my jo-" Crap. "I mean, to protect people. Er, my friends. To protect my friends! And you're my friend, Amy. So we're friends." I was rambling. Of course I would ramble if I was nervous and didn't have a place to run to. Forced to sit here with her, one wrong move and she would pelt me with her hammer. She was feisty. Hurt or not, she would hit me. If she even had her hammer..

"So.. you don't care?" Her voice was small and pitiful. I sweatdropped.

How could I not care about you! I wanted so badly to shout. My mouth wouldn't obey my mind, however, and I only started to stutter, then stop myself, having no clue what I was even trying to say. She only sighed in response. "So, you couldn't tell that anything was wrong with me?" She asked normally, to my relief. "Before I was brought here, I tried so hard to subtly hint that something was wrong."

I didn't answer. I didn't know how to answer. I really hadn't. Suddenly, I felt guilty, and ashamed of myself. I should have noticed. If I had listened to her silent hints, then I would have investigated the matter, and we wouldn't be sitting in a dark cell right now.

"Ames, I-"

"What's the use. Why would I even continue to like you when you don't even like me?"

I let myself look at her with concern. She was all melancholy now, and it was my fault. How clueless was I?

"Amy.." I started, then stopped. My left ear twitched. Footsteps were echoing off the walls as someone came down the corridor. I leaned in closer to her. "Someone's coming." I whispered quietly. "Do something to get their attention. I'd assume they don't know I'm awake yet."

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

There was a moment of silence, then she slapped her hand on the concrete floor, the sound echoing. "Oh Sonic!" She called out rather loudly. "Stop it, oh stop it Sonic! We're not at home..!"

My eyes widened. "Wh-What the.."

"Ahh... Soniiic~!"

I just stared up at her figure in the dark. I had no idea what she was trying to do, and frankly, it was scaring me. That was not what I had meant by getting their attention. But whatever it was, it worked.

"Hey!" Came a man's awkward voice. "Stop that in there."

More footsteps. "What seems to be the problem?" Another guard asked.

"I think they're.. um..." The guard's voice fell into a whisper, but I couldn't hear what he said too clearly.

"What? Should we.. erm.."

"Hold on, I'll turn on the lights."

Amy gasped and leaped onto me. She lay me down gently with my back against the floor, but it still hurt. When the lights flicked on, she hovered over me and her lips met mine, her eyes squeezed shut.

I glanced to the side. There were two guards there on the other side of the bars, staring at us with wide eyes. I could feel my cheeks light with warmth. They couldn't have been more surprised than I was.

Suddenly, Amy jumped up and shot them the nastiest glare I had ever seen out of her. And I had seen a lot of her glares. "Do you boys have a problem?" She growled, putting her hands on her hips.

They just stared for a while longer. Finally, one of the guards took out what looked to be a walkie-talkie sort of thing and pressed the button. "The hedgehogs are.. um.."

"How is his condition?" A raspy voice asked. The dog! It was the dog girl's voice, the one who had disguised herself as Amy just a few days before.

"He seems to be awake and alert, ma'am. And well.. they're kind of.. um.."

"What are you, a child? Use your freaking words. Separate them." The voice said, then it clicked off.

Amy and I both looked at each other. It was the perfect chance to escape. If we worked in sync, even with my hurt body, we could make it out.

As expected, one of the men opened the door. I lay there as if I were too hurt to move, and watched as the man walked in to grab Amy. When he was close enough, I grabbed onto his legs and helped myself up, grabbing the club at his side while he was distracted by Amy's slaps and punches. I jumped up and kicked him, knocking him to the side.

"Sonic!" Amy yelped in terror, knowing I was hurt. I just smiled encouragingly at her, grabbed her, and zoomed out the door right under the other guard's nose. I stopped to kick the other guard in, closing the door behind me. There were so many advantages to being the fastest moving thing alive.

"Do you know where we should go?" I asked, already panting. I guess Omega's attack had left me a little weak.

Amy pointed to the left. "My hammer is that way, in the guards' break room. You just run, and let me be the one to fight."

"Amy, of course I'm going to-"

"No fighting!" She scolded before I could even finish. Having no other choice, I headed toward the room she directed me to in order for her to get her hammer. Fortunately, there was no one there since it was night time, and the only two guards on duty were now locked in that cell.

I kept running, speeding past big, obvious cameras in the corners of the hallway. Luckily, I was fast enough as to not alert them yet. More advantages. There were robots here and there who had spotted us, but Amy took them out quickly as I ran by. We came across a certain hallway, where I slid to a stop at a closed door. The walls were made of glass, showing the aquatic world outside. I nearly fainted at the sight. I had forgotten we would be underwater. Making matters worse, upon stopping, my torso ached severely. I leaned against the door, letting Amy slip from my arms.

"Sonic, you trooper. You okay?" She asked softly with a kind but sad smile.

"No problem, Amy." I said, smiling back. Suddenly the door I was leaning against opened, causing me to fall forward onto my face.

"Lavender!" Amy cried in anger. I looked up to see none other than the purple dog. So Lavender was her name. I clenched my teeth and tried to raise up, but it hurt too bad and my arms collapsed.

Lavender's foot came and pressed onto my back. "What kind of hero are you, blueberry? Getting weak like that. It's just a little scrape."

"Don't touch him." Amy growled under her breath. "Sonic is not weak. He's hurt, and you should know why. Everybody gets hurt sometimes. Everybody falls every now and then."

"Stupid, stupid little girl.." She removed her foot and walked up to Amy. "Heroes aren't supposed to fall." She smirked in her face before grabbing her neck with one hand.

"Now, is that any way for little girls to play?" I stood as if the pain didn't even exist. I could endure it.

"Well well, has the fallen hero sprouted wings once more? Just to save the princess? Where's your strength without your princess?" She spoke confidently.

"I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not one who can understand metaphors. But I don't save her to gain the strength," I said, taking a step towards them. "I save her because I have the strength!" I declared boldly. But before I could even move, the glass behind us shattered.

I immediately flipped out. Water suddenly surrounded me, and I had no idea what to do. I could barely move as the different currents from both the water itself and the impact of the blow knocked me to and fro. I didn't even know what had broken the glass. All I knew was that that Lavender girl was still in front of me, strangling Amy in the water.

I pushed myself forward, grabbing onto Lavender. I brought my foot up to her torso and pushed as hard as I possibly could, finally prying her off. I hugged onto Amy, but on contact all of her breath flew out in bubbles, and she choked on the water. Having no idea what to do, I brought my hand up to cover her mouth, and tried my best to go up; but I wasn't going anywhere. Soon, my lungs felt like they had exploded and I started involuntarily coughing in the water.

As if on cue, someone pulled me from behind, and pulled me through a door and up into air, I gasped, violently coughing up water as I collapsed to my hands and knees.

I looked up to see Shadow, Knuckles and Rogue the bat standing there in front of me. Knuckles was once again dripping wet, and Rogue was tending to Amy.

"You still alive, faker?" Shadow reached his hand down to me. I took it, and he helped me up.

"Th-thanks.." I said, stuttering slightly from still being out of breath. He put a towel around my shoulders, to my surprise, leaving Knuckles behind there with a "Really?"

"Rogue," I said, walking over after nodding in thanks to Shadow. "Is Amy okay?"

"She should be fine. She's coughed up some water and is conscious now. I think it just scared her." Rogue said, laying Amy's head down on her lap, where she curled up and hid her face. "More importantly, how are your wounds? You got saltwater in them. Let the doctor take a look at ya." Just then, a few men wearing GUN uniforms walked in, one carrying a white briefcase.

I looked to see my bandages were gone. They must have fallen off at some point. It was numb, raw, and looked rather irritated.

"I'll be fine," I said passively. "I prefer Amy to be looked at. She was in a cell for almost a week and-" I stopped to see everyone staring at me.

"Honey," Rogue said after a moment of silence. "You're the one with open wounds."

She was right, but still. I wanted Amy to be looked at as a priority, not me. Despite my weak protests, I let the GUN soldiers take me out of the room, only glancing back at Amy for a moment before being pushed around the corner by Tails.

 **xoxo**


End file.
